The name 'Sibi' always reminds me of a giant, fluffy, tomato obsessed German Shepherd , who occupies most of the memories from my late teenage & early twenties...
She is the reason behind my hunt for the book 'Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog'. The book is all about the life with a loving but uncontrolled dog & I found a lot of similarities between Marley, the lab & my Sibi. Sibi was unique & she never had the striking features of a German Shepherd Dogs (GSD) like courage, barking. Yet, she is the one who taught me love is beyond expectations.
I was all excited when my Mom told me that my family had brought an year old German Shepherd. It was really tough to wait till semester holidays to meet our new dog. The first two visits to my home after Sibi's arrival was filled with few incidents which you don't feeling like encountering with a dog.
I have to admit that I got scared of her at the first sight. A fat dog with black & tan coat, bulged out in all directions, with snout longer than most of the GSDs. Wait!!! She was not barking, but wagging her tail.
"Amma, Seems like she knows I belong to this home. She is not barking at me..Did she sniff any of my clothes in home???
"Don't think too much. She never barks at any one"
"But she is wagging her tail"
"Drop that potato chips packet from ur hand &You will know why"
The next day morning, my sleep was disturbed by some kind of tickling in my face. Even a scratch did not work. I opened my eyes to see Sibi's face in the full view of my vision. I tried to shoo her away but she continued to disturb me until I sat up in the bed. The moment I sat up, the fat dog jumped on my bed & dozed off to sleep.
The single bed was not big enough to accommodate both of us & I had to continue my sleep in couch.
The first dog in my memory is Johny, a Indian Mongrel & Pom mix who used to sit beside my bed till I wake up. I had never thought that ,in future, a dog would claim my bed as its own & shoo me away to couch.
My second visit to home was a short one, just 3 days long. I had 3 bananas while watching TV. Then I realized that I had not thrown the banana peels away & to my shock the peels were seen no where around. I always get thrashed by my mom if I don't keep things in proper place. I searched the entire room but in vain. Had my mom found the peels somewhere, the next scene in my home would be beyond my imagination. I offered prayers to God. For a moment, I was against the concept of "Only one God", hoping that at least one God would help me in finding the banana peel.
When I had prepared to leave for my college, I noticed that Sibi was eating a potato. Seeing my surprised look, My mom asked if I had not noticed her eating those banana peels I had kept my side the other day. Phew!!! What a sigh of relief.
The dog had made my 3 days at home a hell.
She ate everything. Potato, Beetroot, Banana along with peel, Spinach, mangoes etc etc. The list was lengthy with tomato occupying the number one position.
Disclaimer:- The above list does not include her regular intake of milk, tea bun & Pedigree which she used to have two times a day.
The only thing that was prohibited to her was non veg. My orthodox granny was strictly against feeding the dog with egg & non veggie stuff & I feel that's the worst thing you can do to a dog.
During my next visit home, I found her holding something between her paws & licking & biting. When I called out her name, She looked at me & went back to the business. Lick!!! Lick!!! Lick!!!
I went near her to find out what was that. It was a small piece of bone!!!
I was a secret non vegetarian at that time & that was the moment I got the buddy feeling with Sibi!!!
Apart from food, she also had obsession for mini trucks. We could never get the dog into car or jeep or any other vehicle. Mini trucks!!! oh man. We used to get our fire woods distributed in mini trucks every month. Sibi went uncontrollable whenever she saw that mini truck. She had made quick friendship with the driver too.
She was just bundle of love. We roamed together in the forests of Koppa. It was just her and me. Koppa's dense trees, streams with damn chill water, roads with no vehicles, constant sound from crickets, these meant the whole world to me. I never held Sibi using chain. I remember Sibi climbing up fast and then look back with a "Are nt u coming with me,human???" look.
She loved chasing monkeys & I loved watching squirrels. I miss those good olden days now.
Post my papa's retirement, my parents stayed with me in Bangalore for some time. I had finalized the house in Electronics city on a Sunday & my family arrived on Monday. I was on the way to my home during my lunch & found a group of little boys excited about something & they were taking the same lane. Oops!!!. There was crowd of little boys in front of my house, each taking turns to peek inside my window. "Its a police dog!!!" "If it bites in ur neck, u ll die" "See its tail". Proudest moment any dog owner can have.
Even my home at Tirunelveli is better known as Periya Nai veedu ( Big dog house) than by anyone else name in the family.
She could not bear the extreme climate in my home town & we had to give her to another family in Bangalore. My papa's friend helped us find a home which already had a dog. The lab staying in that home was fully spoilt & yeah, that's the right home for another spoilt dog like Sibi.
She lives in Rajaji Nagar area in Bangalore. If any of you come across a fat dog with black & tan coat, bulged out in all directions, with snout longer than most of the GSDs in Rajaji Nagar, it could be my Sibi, the dog who left permanent paw prints in my heart.
She is the reason behind my hunt for the book 'Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog'. The book is all about the life with a loving but uncontrolled dog & I found a lot of similarities between Marley, the lab & my Sibi. Sibi was unique & she never had the striking features of a German Shepherd Dogs (GSD) like courage, barking. Yet, she is the one who taught me love is beyond expectations.
I was all excited when my Mom told me that my family had brought an year old German Shepherd. It was really tough to wait till semester holidays to meet our new dog. The first two visits to my home after Sibi's arrival was filled with few incidents which you don't feeling like encountering with a dog.
I have to admit that I got scared of her at the first sight. A fat dog with black & tan coat, bulged out in all directions, with snout longer than most of the GSDs. Wait!!! She was not barking, but wagging her tail.
"Amma, Seems like she knows I belong to this home. She is not barking at me..Did she sniff any of my clothes in home???
"Don't think too much. She never barks at any one"
"But she is wagging her tail"
"Drop that potato chips packet from ur hand &You will know why"
The next day morning, my sleep was disturbed by some kind of tickling in my face. Even a scratch did not work. I opened my eyes to see Sibi's face in the full view of my vision. I tried to shoo her away but she continued to disturb me until I sat up in the bed. The moment I sat up, the fat dog jumped on my bed & dozed off to sleep.
The single bed was not big enough to accommodate both of us & I had to continue my sleep in couch.
The first dog in my memory is Johny, a Indian Mongrel & Pom mix who used to sit beside my bed till I wake up. I had never thought that ,in future, a dog would claim my bed as its own & shoo me away to couch.
My second visit to home was a short one, just 3 days long. I had 3 bananas while watching TV. Then I realized that I had not thrown the banana peels away & to my shock the peels were seen no where around. I always get thrashed by my mom if I don't keep things in proper place. I searched the entire room but in vain. Had my mom found the peels somewhere, the next scene in my home would be beyond my imagination. I offered prayers to God. For a moment, I was against the concept of "Only one God", hoping that at least one God would help me in finding the banana peel.
When I had prepared to leave for my college, I noticed that Sibi was eating a potato. Seeing my surprised look, My mom asked if I had not noticed her eating those banana peels I had kept my side the other day. Phew!!! What a sigh of relief.
The dog had made my 3 days at home a hell.
She ate everything. Potato, Beetroot, Banana along with peel, Spinach, mangoes etc etc. The list was lengthy with tomato occupying the number one position.
Disclaimer:- The above list does not include her regular intake of milk, tea bun & Pedigree which she used to have two times a day.
The only thing that was prohibited to her was non veg. My orthodox granny was strictly against feeding the dog with egg & non veggie stuff & I feel that's the worst thing you can do to a dog.
During my next visit home, I found her holding something between her paws & licking & biting. When I called out her name, She looked at me & went back to the business. Lick!!! Lick!!! Lick!!!
I went near her to find out what was that. It was a small piece of bone!!!
I was a secret non vegetarian at that time & that was the moment I got the buddy feeling with Sibi!!!
Apart from food, she also had obsession for mini trucks. We could never get the dog into car or jeep or any other vehicle. Mini trucks!!! oh man. We used to get our fire woods distributed in mini trucks every month. Sibi went uncontrollable whenever she saw that mini truck. She had made quick friendship with the driver too.
She was just bundle of love. We roamed together in the forests of Koppa. It was just her and me. Koppa's dense trees, streams with damn chill water, roads with no vehicles, constant sound from crickets, these meant the whole world to me. I never held Sibi using chain. I remember Sibi climbing up fast and then look back with a "Are nt u coming with me,human???" look.
She loved chasing monkeys & I loved watching squirrels. I miss those good olden days now.
Post my papa's retirement, my parents stayed with me in Bangalore for some time. I had finalized the house in Electronics city on a Sunday & my family arrived on Monday. I was on the way to my home during my lunch & found a group of little boys excited about something & they were taking the same lane. Oops!!!. There was crowd of little boys in front of my house, each taking turns to peek inside my window. "Its a police dog!!!" "If it bites in ur neck, u ll die" "See its tail". Proudest moment any dog owner can have.
Even my home at Tirunelveli is better known as Periya Nai veedu ( Big dog house) than by anyone else name in the family.
She could not bear the extreme climate in my home town & we had to give her to another family in Bangalore. My papa's friend helped us find a home which already had a dog. The lab staying in that home was fully spoilt & yeah, that's the right home for another spoilt dog like Sibi.
She lives in Rajaji Nagar area in Bangalore. If any of you come across a fat dog with black & tan coat, bulged out in all directions, with snout longer than most of the GSDs in Rajaji Nagar, it could be my Sibi, the dog who left permanent paw prints in my heart.
